Tag: issues

One of the comics I had been most excited to get my hot little hands on during Free Comic Book Day was the first issue to Brian K. Vaughan’s new miniseries, Barrier. I literally knew almost nothing about it other than that it is written by BKV, and that was good enough for me given how much I (along with the rest of the universe) have been loving Saga. ❤

I started reading the first issue to Barrier this morning, assuming it would be a very quick read, and that I would soon be on my merry way doing other things with my day. Boy, was I wrong. This proved to be a much longer read, because I spent about half of it using Google’s translator so that I could understand all the parts in Spanish. Which is fine, I just wasn’t expecting it. And because I’m a Super Pal, I even wrote down the translations in case anyone else *cough cough Cupcakes and Machetes cough* or my boyfriend also wanted to read it, but didn’t feel like doing the leg work to translate it. 😛

(Or if any of you guys are planning on reading it and don’t want to go through and translate it yourself, let me know and I’ll hook you up!) 😉

ANYWAY, onto the story itself. Barrier follows two main characters from two very different walks of life. On one hand, we have Liddy, an American rancher who feels threatened after finding one of her horse’s decapitated heads, skinned and missing its eyes. Talk of “El Chupacabra” and even UFO-related cattle mutilations is quickly dismissed by Liddy who is confident that this is a warning from the cartel that plans on using her land to run their drugs. On edge, she begins exploring her options to protect her land, her animals, and herself. Our other main character, Oscar, is a Honduran young man who is attempting to make his way over the border into the United States. We don’t learn a whole lot about him in the first issue, but we do get a hint that he has something very important in his notebook, and that he may know more about what’s really going on than it originally seems.

The two cross paths on Liddy’s property when Oscar is injured and she is armed and ready to shoot as their respective languages create a barrier (heh, I see what they did there) between them. Just then, SOMETHING pretty crazy happens, but we’ll leave that on a fairly vague note. Let’s just say, that I am definitely ready to check out the rest of this miniseries that will be released in single issues throughout the month of May in five total installments. 🙂

I look forward to seeing these two characters forced together by bizarre circumstances will interact with one another, how they will be able to communicate, and what is going to happen to them. I also want to learn more about what Oscar seems to know already. Brian K Vaughn is amazing at creating characters who you want to keep reading about, so I am really looking forward to seeing what he does with Liddy and Oscar the more we get to know them. Marcos Martin (the artist) and Munsta Vicente (the colorist) do a great job bringing the story to life with their illustrations and vivid colors, from the characters themselves to the rough landscapes. I can’t wait to see what they do in the next installments since I think things are really about to take a turn for the crazy.

I know some people may be put off by not being able to understand part of the dialogue if they don’t speak Spanish or are unwilling to look up translations, but I think the language barrier actually adds to this story. BKV knows what he’s doing as a writer, so I trust what he has in mind for this project. Blending science fiction with the often-debated topic of immigration, I think we’re in for a really interesting story. Like Saga, this one is for mature readers only. I heard some parents getting pretty heated during Free Comic Book Day because there’s some adult content in this, so just something to keep in mind. This one is not intended for the kiddos! 😉

Woo!!! It’s Free Comic Book Day, guys! Hopefully those of you who partake in this holiest of holy days already got to go raid and pillage (and also support, of course) your local comic book shop! I got off to my earliest start ever for FCBD and was the second person to hop in line outside the store.

I had to make the expedition all by my lonesome today since my boyfriend couldn’t go until much later in the afternoon, so he urged me to go on without him and collect all the bounty FCBD had to offer. And quite the bounty it was, so let’s get into all the sweet deetz of this year’s Free Comic Book Day Haul! 😀

Part of this year’s haul. 🙂

From the glorious table of freebies, we (between my morning visit and the boyfriend’s afternoon visit to the store) were able to snag some really cool stuff. Aaaand, this particular morning warrior (yours truly) was the main bread winner in bringing home the goods today. *flexes*

Barrier #1 (Brian K. Vaughan’s launch to his new miniseries!)

A Brief History of Tank Girl

Attack on Titan Anthology

Marvel Rising #0

Bob’s Burgers

DC Nation #0

Suicide Squad #1

Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy

Catalyst Prime: The Event

Lady Mechanika: The Demon of Satan’s Alley

Shadow Roads

And, of course, Free Comic Book Day is not only a day to receive, but also to give, so I was damn sure going to support my local comic shop and purchase some goodies. 🙂 I’ve been hearing really good things about the graphic novel I Kill Giants, so I purchased a copy of that.

Aaaand, they had a limited number at the counter of these adorable little Free Comic Book Day Exclusive Harley Quinn vinyl figures, so you bet I got one. 😉

When my boyfriend ended up getting to go later in the afternoon, he also picked us up some volumes of Lady Mechanika which I’ve been wanting to check out for some time, so that was really exciting. 😀

All in all, this FCBD was definitely a good one for us, even if we didn’t get to go check things out at the same time. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was gorgeous. Did you partake in any Free Comic Book Day goodness today? If so, I’d love to hear how it went and what sort of loot you got! 😛 And if not, feel free to just bring up any good comics you’ve read lately or anything special you’ve got on your radar. Have a great weekend, everyone!! ❤